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Regulation of Cell Fate

Regulation of Cell Fate

Employing a combination of model systems from simple unicellular yeast to drosophila and complex mammalian systems, we seek to reveal unifying ideas and mechanisms that link systemic influences to molecular and cellular components controlling fate decisions.

The theme converges our interests in metabolic control of cell fate with individual research interests in control of cell identity and fate decisions. Employing a combination of model systems from simple unicellular yeast to Drosophila and complex mammalian systems, we seek to reveal unifying ideas and mechanisms that link systemic influences to molecular and cellular components controlling fate decisions. As a team, we bring distinct expertise, systems and abilities to be able to address this question from both a metabolic and mechanistic perspective.

The area of metabolic control is central to the understanding of diverse biological systems and processes. In most biological contexts, nutrients are not limitless and vary within niches. Increasing evidence suggests that metabolic fluxes are not only consequences of altered cell function but also impact cell fate decisions. The metabolic state of a cell depends on overall nutrient availability, the environmental niche the cell is present in and the stressors the organism is subject to. Cells undergo dramatic metabolic and functional remodeling in the context of injury, inflammation and altered metabolic states. However, the actual metabolic changes within subsets of cells in these conditions, and the signaling outputs they control, are almost entirely unknown. The programme will lay the foundation to explore these questions in broader contexts in diverse biological systems.